


Rock and a Hard Place

by chaosintheavenue



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Crack, Gen, Glitches, it might not seem like it at first but it takes a turn, mild blood mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosintheavenue/pseuds/chaosintheavenue
Summary: A little gift for the first place winner of my Tumblr giveaway that wandered straight into crack territory. Bother and befuddle, poor Cicero is stuck...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Rock and a Hard Place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ProfConversationalist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfConversationalist/gifts).



FORTIFICATION HILL

-

The shrill call of a makeshift bugle abruptly dragged Cicero out of his hard-earned sleep. It took a few moments for his brain to process that something seemed... off. That rhythm was reserved for the _second_ call of day.

Oh, shoot.

With no time to spare, he hauled himself up out of his warm, cosy bedroll, pulled on some boots, threw a few fistfuls of Sugar Bombs down his throat- getting a lot more sugar than cereal in reality- and narrowly avoided the broken radio on the floor (he finally made some progress with the dials in the early hours of that morning... which was probably why his eyes were begging to be closed again now) as he hurried out of the tent to meet his training group.

Immediately, it became clear that he was too late. Only a former tent-mate who had developed a reputation for... drinking _blood_... and a handful of fresh-looking recruits were still lingering at the edges of the training yard. The rest had already walked out to the main path below Lord Caesar's tent, and had just begun to recite the script of honouring their leader and pledging their lives to him. Trying to blend into the crowd, Cicero also went through the empty motions, but there was no such devotion in his heart.

What he _was_ devoted to was his duties, the most urgent of which was his daily patrol of the Fort's perimeter, watching out for any signs of increased activity that could indicate infiltration attempts or nearby critter nests. At first, the mission was uneventful- as all before it that week had been- but he didn't let his guard drop for a second. Outside of the gates, danger could lurk anywhere.

As if to prove this suspicion justified, something bipedal brushed past the edge of his peripheral vision as he turned to head back in the direction of the main gate. Quickly jumping through a cluster of large rocks to get a better look at the creature, Cicero-

Wait.

Why couldn't he move...?

Looking down in confusion and alarm, Cicero saw... his right boot, and his left leg down to the level of his ankle. His foot must have become lodged in a gap in the rock formation... or so he told himself. But try as he might, he couldn't get it to budge. It was as if the rock and his leg had somehow fused into one.

He sighed. He'd heard whispered rumours about incidents like this, as well as a supposed solution, but had been hopeful that he'd never have to use it. Now, there was nothing else for it.

"ToggleCollision."


End file.
